GUIDE TO BEST PRACTICES IN FACULTY RETENTION - Columbia University

Office of the Provost

GUIDE TO BEST PRACTICES IN FACULTY RETENTION

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

1

Introduction

2

Letter from the Provost

3

Checklist

4

Data on Health and Welfare of Schools/Departments

4

Culture and Climate

6

Professional Development

9

Leadership Development

15

Scenarios

15

Indicators of Success

17

Barriers to Retention

19

Retention Practices by Faculty Career Stage

20

Campus Resources

22

Literature Review

23

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The fifteen members of the Provost's Advisory Council for the Enhancement of Faculty Diversity provided leadership and counsel in creating this guide. Individually, each possesses a deep commitment to advancing faculty diversity at Columbia; collectively, they represent the enormous breadth of Columbia's academic community. We particularly note the invaluable contributions of our Retention Working Group:

Helen H. Lu, Chair, Working Group; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science; College of Dental Medicine

Dennis A. Mitchell Office of the Provost; Office of the Dean and Division of Community Health, College of Dental Medicine

Anne L. Taylor Office of the Executive Vice President and Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine; Office of the Chief Executive, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Fredrick Harris Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Office of the Dean of Social Science

We also want to give special thanks to the staff members of the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion, especially Lucero Batista, who played a critical role in researching and assembling resources. The members of the office are:

Shana Lassiter, Assistant Provost for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion

Adina Berrios Brooks, Director for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion

Lucero Batista, Graduate Intern, Faculty Diversity and Inclusion

This guide is a result of a review of relevant literature and discussions with the Retention Working Group as well as with deans and with senior and junior faculty throughout the University. While these discussions were focused on the retention needs of diverse faculty, it was recognized that attention to the retention of all faculty would substantially benefit the University. Thus, this guide provides information on retention, with attention to the nuances of retention important to diverse faculty.

First printing, November 2018.

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INTRODUCTION

Columbia University is committed to hiring and retaining diverse and talented faculty. Columbia is dedicated to removing any barriers that may limit the opportunities for faculty advancement of qualified members of underrepresented groups. This guide is intended to help deans and department chairs fulfill the University's commitment to diversity and inclusion through best practices found to help retain faculty. Diversity includes but is not limited to dimensions of disability, gender, gender identity and expression, national origin, race/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and veteran status.

The practices and strategies outlined in this document are informed by case study reviews of best practices proven effective at several peer institutions; a literature review of studies regarding barriers to the retention of faculty, particularly faculty of color and other underrepresented groups; faculty experiences at Columbia; and an examination of best practices across Columbia.

Regarding barriers to retention, Gasman, Kim, and Nguyen (2011) found the following to be leading causes for dissatisfaction and requests for leave among faculty: racial and social isolation, lack of mentoring, occupational stress, devaluation of "minority" research, the "token" hire misconception of underrepresented faculty, and biases in tenure and promotion evaluations. The practices included in this guide are intended to specifically target these barriers to retention.

This guide begins with a Checklist, a summary of best practices to improve and sustain retention of faculty. Best practices are organized into categories; the first category is Data on Health and Welfare of Schools/Departments, which outlines strategies department chairs can use to monitor the health and welfare of their department. Next is the section on Culture and Climate, which describes elements of an inclusive climate and how department chairs can ensure they promote an inclusive culture within their departments. This guide uses the term "inclusive environment" to mean a climate that welcomes and values difference of background, race, expertise, gender, sexuality, and religion among faculty. The sections following Culture and Climate are Professional Development and Leadership Development. These two sections describe opportunities department chairs can help create for faculty to develop leadership skills and further their careers. Each section highlights some of the best practices currently used across schools at Columbia. This guide also presents Scenarios in which the strategies developed in earlier sections can be used to guide department chairs in their conversations with faculty members as they deal with leaves of absence, counteroffers or tenure promotions. Lastly, the guide offers department chairs a table of Indicators of Success of best practices they can refer to as they work to support faculty, a Barriers to Retention table that organizes best practices by the retention barrier it is structured to address, and a Retention Practices by Faculty Career Stage table, which outlines the most appropriate strategies a department chair could use to support faculty members at each stage of their career.

This guide is written as a living document; in that spirit, we invite feedback on what works, what doesn't, and what should be added.

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LETTER FROM THE PROVOST

Dear Colleague: Columbia University aspires to be the go-to institution for the world's greatest scholars. We cannot achieve this without realizing our core values of both inclusion and excellence. This requires sustained focus on equity in all our efforts to recruit, hire, promote, and retain an exceptionally well-qualified faculty. We have developed a number of resources to assist schools and departments in this endeavor, including this guide. The University's Guide to Best Practices in Faculty Retention serves as a companion resource to our Guide to Best Practices in Faculty Search and Hiring (2014) and our Guide to Best Practices in Faculty Mentoring (2016). This guide is intended to assist schools, departments, and faculty in their retention efforts. It does not replace existing University, school, or department procedures or practices, but rather serves as a framework and supplemental resource. We developed this manual because we believe that adherence to its guidelines will have a positive impact on faculty success and will enhance the climate of inclusiveness Universitywide, thus building a stronger University community. A thriving, diverse faculty is essential to creating a dynamic learning and working environment that will prepare all our students to lead in our global society. Whether you are a new department chair or an experienced leader in your unit, we hope you will find this resource valuable. Thank you for all that you do to strengthen our community and ensure the future excellence of Columbia University.

Sincerely, John H. Coatsworth Provost

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